Located about 75 million light-years away, in the constellation Aquarius, the dwarf Kinman galaxy is too far away to see its stars individually, but its evidence, the “signatures” of some of them, can be appreciated. So they detected a star 2.5 million times brighter than the sun, one of those with unstable temperament and occasional dramatic changes in its spectrum and brightness that attract scientists.
star1.mp4
The star was 2.5 million times brighter than the sun.
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The occasion seemed to be perfect, but when experts from Ireland, Chile and the US peered into the Very Large Telescope (VLT) that manages the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the deserted Atacama, they were perplexed. “We were surprised to discover that the star had disappeared “says the astronomer Andrew Allan, who led the study for Trinity College Dublin.
And it can’t be said that they didn’t try. First they turned towards the area to the instrument ESPRESSO and they used all four VLT telescopes simultaneously. A few months later, they tested the ability to detect X-shooter. Nothing.
Did the star become less bright and was partially obscured by dust? Or did it collapse without producing a supernova? Astronomers believe in this second option. The star would have collapsed into a black hole, overlooking the usual explosion. A rare event: it would be the first direct detection of a monster star that ends its life in this way. No memories, erasing all her tracks.
“It is very unusual for such a massive star to disappear without producing a brilliant supernova explosion.”Allan explained.
Mystery in the cosmos: a giant star disappeared without a trace
Located about 75 million light-years away, in the constellation Aquarius, the dwarf Kinman galaxy is too far away to see its stars individually, but its evidence, the “signatures” of some of them, can be appreciated. So they detected a star 2.5 million times brighter than the sun, one of those with unstable temperament and occasional dramatic changes in its spectrum and brightness that attract scientists.
star1.mp4
The star was 2.5 million times brighter than the sun.
– –
The occasion seemed to be perfect, but when experts from Ireland, Chile and the US peered into the Very Large Telescope (VLT) that manages the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in the deserted Atacama, they were perplexed. “We were surprised to discover that the star had disappeared “says the astronomer Andrew Allan, who led the study for Trinity College Dublin.
And it can’t be said that they didn’t try. First they turned towards the area to the instrument ESPRESSO and they used all four VLT telescopes simultaneously. A few months later, they tested the ability to detect X-shooter. Nothing.
Did the star become less bright and was partially obscured by dust? Or did it collapse without producing a supernova? Astronomers believe in this second option. The star would have collapsed into a black hole, overlooking the usual explosion. A rare event: it would be the first direct detection of a monster star that ends its life in this way. No memories, erasing all her tracks.
“It is very unusual for such a massive star to disappear without producing a brilliant supernova explosion.”Allan explained.
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